Employee Relations: An International Journal

Doris Ruth Eikhof; Chris Warhurst; Axel Haunschild

2007 Employee Relations: An International Journal

doi: 10.1108/01425450710839452

Purpose – The purpose of this article is to initiate critical reflection on the assumptions and evidence underpinning the work‐life balance debate. Design/methodology/approach – The article reviews a range of international literature focused on and related to the work‐life balance debate and issues. Findings – In the work‐life balance debate, over‐work is perceived as the problem. Nevertheless, beyond working time and the provision of flexible working practices to enable child care, there is little in the debate abut the need to change work per se . The debate also narrowly perceives “life”, equating it with women's care work, hence the emphasis again of family‐friendly polices. Research limitations/implications – The article suggests that reconceptualisation is required in analyses of both work‐life balance and the relationship between work and life. Practical implications – The article implies that current work‐life balance policies are myopic in terms of addressing the needs and aspirations of employees. Originality/value – The article offers a synthesis of evidence that is wider than that typical in current analyses of work and life.

Ken Roberts

2007 Employee Relations: An International Journal

doi: 10.1108/01425450710759181

Purpose – The purpose of this article is to consider why work‐life balance has become a major issue, and the likely outcomes of the widespread dissatisfaction with current work schedules. Design/methodology/approach – The article reviews international evidence on hours of work and time use, and the academic literature on employees’ attitudes towards their hours of work, and perceptions and complaints about work‐life imbalances. Findings – Working time has not lengthened and complaints about time pressure are unrelated to hours actually worked. The sources of the widespread dissatisfaction with current work schedules will lie in a combination of other trends – increased labour market participation by women, work intensification, the spread of feelings of job insecurity, more work being done at odd hours, the spread of new information and communication technologies, free time increasing more slowly than spending power and aspirations, and relatively long hours becoming most common among employees (and the self‐employed) in higher status jobs. An outcome is unlikely to be a general downward trend in hours worked on account of the substantial opportunity costs that would often be incurred by employees, and because some (mainly middle class) employees have access to a number of effective coping strategies. Research limitations/implications – Nearly all the evidence considered (and available) is from Western countries. Practical implications – Regulation of working time with the aim of delivering more acceptable work‐life balances needs to deliver flexibility (at employees' discretion) rather than any standard solution. Originality/value – The article offers a synthesis of evidence from sources that are rarely drawn together – mainly labour market research, and leisure studies.

Sarah Wise; Chris Smith; Raffaella Valsecchi; Frank Mueller; Jonathan Gabe

2007 Employee Relations: An International Journal

doi: 10.1108/01425450710759190

Purpose – The purpose of this article is to assess whether tele‐nursing in Scotland (NHS24), when compared with traditional face‐to‐face nursing, facilitates greater employee control over working time and therefore a potentially better work‐life balance. Design/methodology/approach – The article draws on evidence from two independent research projects; a survey of 64 ward nurses and midwives, which involved face‐to‐face interviews; and a field study of tele‐nursing in a large site in Scotland, using interviews and observations of 15 nurse advisors or tele‐nurses. Findings – Three elements of work organisation are central in shaping nurses' working hours and their control over the balance between their work and their home life: the management of working hours; the degree of mutual dependency of nurses within teams; and the nature of patient care. Research limitations/implications – The two pieces of research reported offer a strong basis for comparative study. However, the two projects were designed independently, though research questions overlapped and one researcher conducted the field work in both settings; there is an imbalance in the number of interviews conducted in each setting; and the nurse advisor interviewees are of the same clinical grade, whereas a variety of grades and clinical areas are represented among the hospital nurse interviewees. Originality/value – This is the first study of work‐life balance amongst tele‐nurses. The research demonstrates that call centre work has rationalised, depersonalised and yet enabled more “control” by nurses over their work‐life balance, while paradoxically offering less autonomy in their task environment. In conventional work settings professional values make it difficult for nurses to disengage from the workplace.

Jeff Hyman; Juliette Summers

2007 Employee Relations: An International Journal

doi: 10.1108/01425450710759208

Purpose – The purpose of this article is to assess the influence of different forms of organisational representation on the provision of work‐life balance employment policies. Design/methodology/approach – The article uses on‐site semi‐structured interviews with employees, HR and line managers and trade union representatives in four case studies as well as survey responses from a total of 17 institutions in the financial services sector. Findings – Employees do influence work‐life balance issues in the financial services sector, and work‐life balance initiatives had greater breadth, codification and quality where independent unions were recognised. In all cases however, the extent of departure from minimal statutory levels of provision was not great. Research limitations/implications – The nature of the study and its focus on Scotland may limit the generalisability of the findings into other sectors or regions. Practical implications – In light of the evolving work‐life balance legislative framework, this article should be of practical interest to trade unions, practitioners and academics. It demonstrates that organisations and unions need to retain and develop a focus on work‐life balance applications. Originality/value – The article indicates the prevalence of management control of the work‐life balance agenda and management's discretion in the operation of work‐life issues. Employees and their representatives accepted this control, and their private individualised responsibility for balancing work and life, without challenge. These results inform current understanding of how work‐life balance legislation, based on a voluntarist agenda, translates into practice.

Fiona Moore

2007 Employee Relations: An International Journal

doi: 10.1108/01425450710759217

Purpose – The purpose of this article is to compare and contrast the workers and managers of an Anglo‐German MNC, focusing on how each group attempts to maintain an acceptable work‐life balance. Design/methodology/approach – The article is based on a two‐year‐long ethnographic study, including in‐depth interviews, participant‐observation and archival research. Findings – Although the bulk of the company's work‐life balance initiatives focus on the managers, and the managers display greater loyalty to the company, the workers are better able to achieve work‐life balance. Neither group displays a more positive attitude to their work; however, the managers focus more on achieving status and the workers on personal satisfaction. Research limitations/implications – The findings challenge assertions that “flexible” working practices are good for work‐life balance, that managers are better able to maintain a good work‐life balance than workers, and that the development of an appropriate work‐life balance policy assists in ensuring company loyalty and positive attitudes to work. Practical implications – This article suggests that flexible working may contribute to poor work‐life balance, and that success may be less an issue of developing work‐life balance policies and more of encouraging a healthy attitude towards work. Originality/value – This article focuses on the occupationally stratified aspects of work‐life balance, comparing managers and workers within an organisation.

Ann Bergman; Jean Gardiner

2007 Employee Relations: An International Journal

doi: 10.1108/01425450710759226

Purpose – The purpose of this article is to explore the concept of availability, both empirically and theoretically, in the context of three Swedish organisations, and identifies the structural influences on availability patterns for work and family. Design/methodology/approach – The article is based on quantitative case studies using employer records and an employee questionnaire in three organisations. Multivariate descriptive statistics and multivariate logistic regression are used to illustrate and analyse patterns of availability for work and family. Findings – The descriptive data demonstrate the influence of the organisational context and type of production process, as well as gender, on availability patterns. Patterns of work availability appeared to differ across the organisations to a greater extent than patterns of family availability, which were highly gendered. The logistic regression results indicated that: occupation was a significant influence on both temporal and spatial availability patterns across the organisations; gender was the most significant influence on time spent on household work and part‐time working for parents with young children; age of employees and age of employees' children were the most significant factors influencing the use of time off work for family. Research limitations/implications – Analysis limited to c ase studies. More extensive quantitative research would be needed to make empirical generalisations. Qualitative research would be needed to establish whether and how employees are able to make use of different availability patterns to improve their work‐life balance. Originality/value – The concept of availability is a new way of trying to capture and analyse tensions in people's everyday lives as they try to manage multiple demands.

John Burgess; Lindy Henderson; Glenda Strachan

2007 Employee Relations: An International Journal

doi: 10.1108/01425450710759235

Purpose – The purpose of this article is to assess the ability of formal equal employment opportunity (EEO) programmes and workplace agreement making to facilitate work and family balance for women workers in Australia. Design/methodology/approach – This article uses documentary analysis and semi‐structured interviews in six Australian organisations that are required to develop formal EEO programmes. Findings – Formal EEO programmes and agreement making are limited in their ability to promote work and family‐friendly arrangements at the workplace. Informal arrangements and managerial discretion are important in realising work and care balance. Research limitations/implications – The paper is Australian based, and the case studies were confined to six organisations, which restricts the findings. Practical implications – Leave and work arrangements need to be required within agreements and EEO programmes. Most programmes gravitate towards minimum requirements, hence, it is important to ensure that these minimum requirements provide for work and care reconciliation. Programmes beyond the workplace, such as funded childcare, are important in this context. Originality/value – The article highlights that formal mechanisms cannot achieve work and care reconciliation for women workers if they are built upon very limited minimum requirements, are voluntary and are dependent upon a bargaining process at the workplace.